Dream BIG and Become

Through my studies this week, I greatly appreciated Dallin H. Oaks' talk "The Challenge to Become" from October 2000 General Conference. He talked a lot about becoming and how the gospel challenges us to become something rather than just know something. He shared that it is not enough to be convinced of the gospel, we need to act and think so we are converted by it. Elder Oaks' comment that conversion is often achieved more readily by suffering and adversity than by comfort and tranquility really hit home for me. When I have gone through some really hard times in my life, I grew the most. I grew closer to my Father in Heaven and feel like despite the challenges, I was becoming more of the person that I am meant to be.

Elder Oaks talks about how Nephi describes the final judgment in terms of what we have become rather than just by what we have done. Most of us can do good but why are we doing it? He reminds us that we can't just go through the motions of doing what's right. We also need to do it for the right reason . . . for the pure love of Christ, which he tells us is a condition not an act. Elder Oaks' reminder that the final reward for each of us is not based on how long we have "labored" in the vineyard but on whether or not our labors have helped us become something. This was comforting to me because we each have different paths back to our Father in Heaven and it may take some of us longer to get to where we need to be, but as long as we are learning and becoming along the way, that is what is
going to matter for us. Like Elder Oaks said, "We do not obtain our heavenly reward by punching a time clock." We should never give up hope for ourselves or those we love.

Another reminder from Elder Oaks that really resonated with me is that exaltation is an eternal family experience and our mortal family experiences are best suited to prepare us for eternity. When my boys were young and would fight and argue, I would ask them the question, "If we can't get along on earth, how are we are going to be able to get along in heaven?" This made all of us stop and think.

Elder Oaks reminds us to never stop striving [trying] and if we are losing our desire to do evil, we are progressing toward our heavenly goal. When we are proceeding towards conversion, we begin to see things as our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ see them. We hear His voice instead of the voices of the world.

Taylor Richards reminds us to "Think Big." Some of the things that resonated with me from his talk are:

• 
  Don't underestimate yourself
• You CAN do it
• Involve the Lord and you can do the impossible
• It's a lot more fun to be great than to just be good or mediocre
• It's no harder to be great than it is to be good
• Pursue your goals and dreams
• Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it
• Dream HUGE!
  

I also loved the talk "License to Pursue Dreams." The 20% time concept where you do what you want for that amount of time, really made me stop and think. I am so focused on my lists and my projects and getting things done, that I don't really take the time to do what I REALLY enjoy. In fact, sometimes I can't even remember what I like to do in my spare/free time. She talked about giving people the time and tools and then trust then to explore. I think this can be applied to each of us at any point in life, not just in business.

"Your Emotional Fingerprint" made me stop and think about my life and my emotions. Jim Ritchie talked about how we need to develop a blueprint for our feelings and emotions because it will help explain why we respond the way we do to situations in our life. He says that becoming aware of your emotional fingerprint or emotional DNA helps a person make effective decisions, overcome challenges, and achieve personal and financial goals with more effectiveness. Wow! I definitely want to pursue my own emotional fingerprint. Some other things that also had an effect on me are:

• What you feed grows and what you starve dies
• There is a battle inside each of us
• Learn to validate your emotions internally and you will be able to overcome challenges  and accomplish goals because you won't be at the mercy of external influences
• When a person learns what the key driving forces are in their life, they can begin to take control of their future
• Unleash your creative power
• Be quick to observe

A couple of questions that Ritchie talked about caused me to think about myself and my own life. These are: What makes me feel important? What drives me? These are important questions that I need to have the answers for, so that is what I am striving for after this week's learning.